Teachers in Ocer Campion received experiential training on Jesuit Education. The aforesaid training was conducted from 29th-30thOctober by Irish teachers from Jesuit schools in Galway, Ireland.
Ocer teachers from different departments attended the training as well as support staff who included the school Bursar, nurse, secretaries, matron, patron and the school counsellor among others. The facilitators focused on the uniqueness of Jesuit education. Among the topics that were covered included; understanding the foundation of Jesuit Education, the core values and objectives of this education system, the role of extra-curricular activities and understanding that education is a vocation.
“The training helped me to understand the long tradition of Jesuit Education,” says Mr. Pascal Businge; a Project Associate in Ocer. He goes on to add that through the training he came to understand Ocer’s emphasis on activities such as the campus ministry, the existence of different clubs such as the Debate club and the rationale for active student leadership.
The feedback from the different participants showed that they found the sessions valuable as regards understanding the uniqueness and value of the Jesuit Education methodology. “The characteristics of Jesuit Education were elaborated very well and I also understood the essence of maintaining a school culture,” says Mr. Samuel Bwambale; a teacher and patron of the Debate club.
Besides the training, the Irish teachers also had a classroom experience where they observed how the teachers conduct their lessons and how they interact with students.
Ocer Campion has strong links and well established collaborative relationship with the Jesuit community in Ireland. This is the 7thgroup of Irish teachers to visit Ocer. It is an annual exchange program that both the teachers at Jesuit schools in Ireland and the teachers/staff at Ocer always look forward to. Most of the visiting teachers were educated in Jesuit schools while others have served in Jesuit schools for a long time thus they are ‘experts’ in the Jesuit Pedagogy.